‘Did a robot write that?’: AI-generated digital storybooks

Journal article

‘Did a robot write that?’ asked one young participant in this study. A deceptively simple question that captures the challenges raised by artificial intelligence (AI) in children’s literacy experiences. This paper explores how young children and their caregivers engage with AI-generated storybooks through Let’s Story, a feature of the Applaydu app. Developed by Gameloft and Ferrero International in partnership with the University of Oxford’s Learning in Families through Technology (LiFT) project, Let’s Story enables families to co-create storybooks using Microsoft’s generative AI tools. Data were collected through two play tests involving 22 parent–child pairs from the UK, USA, and France. These sessions examined how the children and their caregivers responded to AI-generated content during shared reading. While the stories supported playful engagement, especially in a child’s home language, concerns emerged about narrative complexity, image-text alignment, and narration. The findings offer timely insights for ELT practitioners and educational technology developers.

Authors: Ratner, S; Ong, C; Mathers, S; Murphy, VA

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Journal: ELT Journal
• Volume: 79
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 595–604
• Publication date: 2025-09-26
• Acceptance date: 2025-08-08
• DOI: 10.1093/elt/ccaf034
• EISSN: 1477-4526
• ISSN: 0951-0893
• Language: English
• Keywords: AI; digital; storybooks; shared reading; literacy